Ron Howard Says George Lucas Pitched 'Star Wars' Terribly

Directors Ron Howard and George Lucas go way back. Lucas directed Howard in American Graffiti , and Howard has described him as a mentor. If anyone was primed to be sold on Star Wars , it was Howard.

But he just… really wasn’t, it turns out. He revealed as much during an in-depth conversation with Graham Bensinger.

Back then, when Howard asked Lucas what his next project would be, Lucas said it would be science fiction that would "use all the special effects and the technical breakthroughs that you could see in 2001: A Space Odyssey, " but fast, full of action, "kind of like Flash Gordon."

Howard said it "sounded really terrible to me. Really lame."

Later, he did think about auditioning, but it didn’t work out.

Obviously, things turned out fine for everyone, but for most of us, a reaction to a pitch like that can be devastating. Let’s dive into what we can learn from this debacle.

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On Vision and Working with Actors

When he was starting, there was a clear gap between Lucas' vision and his ability to communicate it. Howard has said that Lucas never really figured out how to talk to actors.

“George is very result-oriented,” Howard said, “and he has something in his head, and he counted on the actors to get it there, but he didn't think of himself as a performance whisperer.”

His primary direction on the Star Wars set was "faster and more intense… that was his main direction, faster and more intense." It worked for Star Wars , Howard allows, but it's a narrow tool.

On not getting cast, Howard was dry about it.

"That man of vision clearly knew that I didn't fit into his vision because not only did I not get to read the script, I couldn't even get in for an audition."

For American Graffiti , it took Howard six auditions over six months to win the part. When he asked Lucas about it later, Lucas said it took him that long to find the cars, too. "He was looking at this thing holistically; he was creating a world, we were a part of it."

Lucas always knew what he wanted. He just couldn't necessarily tell you what it was. Vision and articulation via pitching are separate skills. You might need help with the latter, and that’s okay.

What Lucas Got Right (Even When He Sounded Wrong)

Despite the bad pitch and minimal actor direction, Howard says the American Graffiti performances were "very, very cutting edge… so honest, and that honesty was just what that movie needed."

How? Lucas had an extraordinary casting eye that compensated for everything else. He didn't need to describe the world; he just built it and put the right people in it.

Howard also tells a story about how Lucas approached the film as a "musical.”

He didn't understand why Lucas kept calling American Graffiti a musical until he realized Lucas "had written every scene with a specific '50s rock and roll song in mind and the soundtrack of the movie was what made it a musical to him."

Howard said, "That's George with his lateral thinking. I mean, he's just an outlier."

In Lucas’ head, the vision was coherent and complete. It just didn't translate into a room.

So, How Do You Get Better at This Stuff?

The gap Lucas couldn't bridge (between an internal vision and the ability to communicate it) is a gap a lot of directors struggle with, and few talk about openly.

Obviously, Star Wars is a creative and marketable idea. It’s hooked audiences for decades by this point. The problem with Lucas' description wasn't the premise; it was that he pitched the process instead of feeling. He started with 2001 effects, Flash Gordon action, which are references to how the movie would be made, not why anyone should care about it.

A stronger pitch leads with the emotional hook and the stakes, then earns those technical details later.

If you've been living inside your project for months, it's easy to forget that a person new to the idea has no idea what you’re talking about, even if you have the richest mythology and best worldbuilding.

Practice pitching to people with no context. These should not be collaborators or friends who are already believers or will encourage you no matter what. If they don't get it, the pitch isn't there yet. Here's a framework to start from.

What about talking to actors?

Howard describes his own approach as a direct counterpoint to Lucas'.

"If you can talk about acting with … these world-class talents, and they recognize that you understand what it's going to take for them to flourish," he said, the creative relationship rarely reaches an impasse.

That understanding comes from learning the vocabulary. Don’t tell actors what you want the audience to feel, but give them something specific to do in a scene. Results-direction ("be sadder," "go faster") puts the burden back on the actor to reverse-engineer your intention.

Action-based direction gives them a task. It also allows for some creativity in how they respond to your note (how they accomplish the action), and you might find yourself pleasantly surprised by what they give you.

The other piece Howard names is creating a set culture where input is welcome, where actors and collaborators feel safe offering ideas because they've seen you say “yes” to good ones.

“The other thing is that if you demonstrate over and over a leadership style which covets input, which is excited by other people's ideas, and people recognize that you're thrilled to say ‘yes’ to an idea, that works.”

Lucas perhaps didn’t rely so much on that potential collaboration. He built his films in the edit, where he had full control. That worked for him. But it's a high-wire act most directors can't afford.

Learning to communicate in the room is a better option than hoping your cast is extraordinary enough to figure it out themselves.